Stories of Girls Who Have Influenced the History of their Times

Emperor Septimus
Severus --the man who "walled in" England, and of whom it was
said that "he never performed an act of humanity or forgave a
fault." Becoming, by the Emperor's grace, a Roman citizen, this
merchant of Palmyra, according to a custom of the time, took the
name of his royal patron as that of his own "fahdh," or family,
and the father of young Odhainat in the portico, as was Odhainat
himself, was known as Septimus Odaenathus, while the young girl
found her Arabic name of Bath Zabbai, Latinized into that of
Septima Zenobia.

But as, thinking nothing of all this, they looked lazily on the
throng below, a sudden exclamation from the lad caused his
companion to raise her flashing black eyes inquiringly to his
face.

"What troubles you, my Odhainat?" she asked.

"There, there; look there, Bath Zabbai!" replied the boy
excitedly; "coming through the Damascus arch, and we thought him
to be in Emesa."

The girl's glance followed his guiding finger, but even as she
looked a clear trumpet peal rose